Buffer-spring for vestibule-diaphragms.



V. E. SISSON. BUFFER SPRING FOR VESTIBULE DIAPHRAGMS.

APfLIGATIONTILED JUNE 26, 1913.

Patented May 19, 1914 2 SHEETS-11153? 1.

IP19. Z.

A g NVENTiOR.

A TTORNEYaY.

V. E. SISSON. BUFFER SPRING FOR VBSTIBULE DIAPHRA-GMS.

APPL IOATIbN FILED JUNE 26, 1913.

Patented May 19, 1914.

2 SHEETS'SHEET 2.

gmafiNrok A TTORNE Y5 Wlf/VL'SSES WW .m' ul bule a't one A plate of salddlaphra face plates of dated March 12, 1912, which pair Warren E. sIss oN, or carcass,

rumors, sssmNon-ro WALTER r. MURPHY, or

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BUFFER-SPRING FOR VESTIBULE-DIAPHRAGMS.

Spccificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed June 26,1913. Serial No. 275,923.

To all whom it may concern.

Be itknown that I, VINTON E. SISSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have-invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buffer-Springs for vestibule-Diaphragms, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to car vestibules'and particularly to the means employed for keeping the upper ends of the diapragm car vestibules in normal position -or restoring them to such position when displaced by the changes in the relative positions of the cars between which said vestibules are arranged, due to curves, irregularities in the track or other causes. Theqnrimary object of the invention is to provideccrtain improvements in the-diaphragm face plate spring device disclosed in Patent No. 1,019,777, to F. G. Fowler, have been found necessary, or at least desirable, in order that the device of this patent should have the maximum efficiency, reliability and durability when subjected to actual service conditions.

The improvements constituting my invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a fragmentary, plan view of theend of a vestibuled railway car fitted with a "diaphragm face plate spring constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing two cars coupled together and illustrating the operation of the spring when the train rounds a curve; Fig. 3 is a plan view on a larger scale, of the, parts shown in the preceding figures, thediaphragm being omitted; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line H of Fig. 3; Fig, 5, asecti'onal View on line 55 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6, a view in perspective of the device employed for attaching the center of the springv to the face plate; and Fig. 7, a similar view of the preferred. device for holding together the leaves of the spring.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the d ra wings,. A designatesv a ter; 13

The faceplates o two coupled vestibulcs are supposedto be "in alinement with caclrother, theicollapsibie' end of the car.

e zdiaphragmfo f the aie'sti;

fol.lowingv expedicnts:

the diaphragms beu the diaphragms being intended to take care of the changes in the relative position of the cars. As a matter of fact, under actual service conditions there is a constant tendency on the part of the diaphragm face plates in contact with each other to get out of alinement. The bottom of the face plates are held together in more or less proper position by the buffer rigging of the car, but the upper ends of the plates are subjected to all sorts of stresses Patented May 1a, 1914.

and pressures tending to move them in every their normal positions. of I the diaphragm face plates may be due, for example, to the change in position of the cars in rounding curves, to the inequalities in the track, to the fact that the springs of some cars are stronger and st" e-r than others, and to other causes which, as a matter of fact, keep the diaphragm. plates in a constant state of vibration.

The device of the Fowler patent above referred to has'for its purpose, in the first direction out of place, to check the tendency of the face plates to move from the normal position and, in the second place, to return the plates to the original position, if displaced, as soon as the displacing stress has ceased. The device, however correct in principle, is susceptible of improvement so far as concerns, for one thing,,the means by which the the spring is attached to the" face plate. Due to the constant vibration of the face plate, or its tendency to vibrate, very destructive stresses are exerted against the spring at its place of attachment to the face plate. For the purpose of obtaining the proper strength and rigidity the spring is a compound spring consisting of several,

leaves, all attached to middle and only one This circumstance makes it particularly important that an extremely secure fastening be employed at the center of the spring; otherwise, looseness is developed or a breaking away of the attache ment may occur, which may be not only inconvenient butalso dangerous. inventhe face plate at the drawings, the spring designated D, as a whole, is made of which engages the up of three leaves it), 11 and 1N} diiejs jth'esej'defects in the original; I 'ce bythl e'mploym'ei'it of'i'the Referring to the 12 which are bound together at the middle by any suitable means, preferably by the U-shaped binding member 13, the flanges let of which extend around the edges of the leaves so as to inclose them. The spring is supported upon and attached to a. bracket member (Fig. 6) consisting of an attaching plate 15 having an angular lip 16 which is narrower than the plate 15 between which plate and lip the leaves of the :;pring, with their binding member 13, are arranged so to make a close fit. The bracket member is secured. to the face plate C by rivets 17 passing through the portions of the attaching plate 15 which project beyond the lip 16 at either side of the same. The spring is secured to the bracket member by bolts 18 which preferably pass through the outstanding portions of the lips 16, the leaves of the spring, the binding niember and the face plate C.

The extremities of the longest leaf 10 engage slidably with the keepers on the ends of the car. These keepers consist preferably each of a plate 19 secured to the end of the car and formed with a pair of outstanding flanges 20 perforated to receive a bolt 21 removably held in place by nut The leaf 10 is provided at each end with a stop adapted to abut against the bolt 21. Preferably, the end of the spring is bent over as indicated at 23.

The utility and desirability of the means above described for securing the spring to the face plate will. be apparent from a consideration of the stresses which are developed at the place of attachment of the spring to the face plate when the device is in service. another car the diaphragm is expanded as shown in Fig. 1, the steps 23 at opposite ends of the spring bearing against the bolts 21. When the car is coupled to another car the diaphragm is to a certain extent colla psed, putting the spring under tension, the dotted lines in F 3 showing the position. of the face plate and the shape which the spring assumes when the car is coupled with another. It will be seen, therefore, that the spring constantly under tension whenever the car in question is coupled up in a train. This involves a constant stress on whatever devices are used for attaching the spring to the face plate. Moreover, this tension eihanccd by the fact that the outer leaves 11 arl 1:: are formed originally with a smaller cur ature than the leaf 10, in order that they may eil'cctiv-ely r inform and strengthen the longer leaf. llhr. .."..re, when the leaves of the spring are bound together they exert a constant pressure on \vhateier means isiused for attacl'iing them to the face plate. These stresses are taken care of by fitting the spring tightly between the plate 15 and its integral lip 16. it will. be observed that When the car is not coupled to.

only the longer leaf 10 engages the car.

"lhe diaphragm face plate shiftsin all directions in respect to the car. It has some vertical movement due to the looseness of the bulfer gear, besides shifting to positions oblique to the end of the car, as shown in Fig. 2. The U-shaped binding element 13 checks any tendency to relative movement between the longer leaf 10 and the other leaves due to a vertical movement of the face plate.

Fig. 2 shows the positions of the vest-ibules and face plates of two cars in a train rounding a curve. chafed so that in each case one of the stops is brought into engagement with the bolt 21 of the corresponding keeperf This puts this half of the spring under tension and when the cars come into alinement, after the the curve is passed, the tension thus created The face plates have returns the face plate to which the spring I is attached to its normal position. In bending in this way the spring exerts a stress tending to tear the spring from its attachment to the face plate. This is resisted in my construction by the attachment of the bracket member 15 to the face plate at four alincd points. Moreover, the rivets '17 are arranged at quite a distance from the bolts 18 which increases the leverage resisting-the stress exerted by the spring. It would not be feasible to simply increase the number of the bolts 18 as, in the first place, this would involve weakening the spring by the additional perforations and, in the second place, would increase the rigid or dead portion of the spring. The vibration of the face plate in its own plane, either vertically, horizontally or diagonally, puts the rivets l7 and bolts 18 in shear- As there are four of these attaching devices, the shear is so distributed that the security of the fastening is not seriously affected by such vibration.

By providing the keepers with removable elements adapted to be engaged by the bent ends of the spring, the attachment of the device to the car is facilitated. The keepers may be secured to the car during the construction of the latter and, similarly, the spring may be fastened to the diaphragm face plate of the vestibule at the time it is constructed. The vestibule is fitted to the ca before the bolts 21 are put in place. It will be seen that even if the bolts 18 should be sheared oil' or broken, the face plate will be held by the leaf 10 of the spring, the ei-ntcr portion of which will be supported by the bracket member 15.

While I have described my inventionin certain preferred embodiments, modifications might be made without departure from the invention, so that I do not wish-the invention to be understood as limited to the precise constriu-tions and arrangements shown.

and the I claim:

1. The combination with the diaphragm face plate of a car vestibule, of a semi-elliptical spring interposed between said plate end of the ear-and secured at the middle to one of said elements, and keepers on the other of said elements with which the ends of the spring slidably engage, each Consisting of a plate provided with a pair of projecting flanges spaced apart, and a bolt removably secured to said flanges, the ends of saidspring being provided with stops adapted to engage said bolts, for the purpose described.

Thecombination with the diaphragm face plate of a car vestibule, of a semi-elliptical spring secured at the middle to said faceplate, and keepers on the end of the car with which the extremities of the spring slidably engage,each'consist-ing of a plate provided with a pair of projecting flanges spaced apart, and a bolt removably secured to said flanges, the ends of the spr ng being provided with stops adapted toengage said bolts, for the purpose described.

3. The combination with the diaphragm face plate ofa car vestibule, of a semi-elliptical, spring interposed between said face pl'ateand the end of the car, and means for supporting the middle portion of said spring and rigidly securing the same to one of said elements comprising an attaching plate formed with an angular lip narrower than the attaching plate between which plate and lip the spring is adapted to fit, attaching de vices extending through said lip, spring and attaching plate, and attaching devices which pass through the attaching plate on opposite sides of said lip.

4. The combination with the diaphragm face plate of a car vestibule, of a semi-elliptical spring interposed between said face Y plate and the end of the car, means for supporting the middle portion of said spring and rigidly securing the same to one of said elements comprising an attaching plate formed with an angular lip narrower than the attaching plate between which plate and lip the spring is adapted to fit, attaching devices extending through said lip, spring and attaching plate, and attaching devices which pass through the attaching plate on opposite sides of said lip, and re taining devices for the ends of the spring conformed so as to permit the ends-of the spring to slip and so as to provide also an engagement/ between one extremity of the spring and" its retaining device that becomes efl'ectiveivhen the face plate is moved out of its normal position with respect to the car, for the purpose described.

5. The combination with-the end structure of a railway car and the dig phragm face plate of the vestibulethereof, o a semi-elliptical spring consisting of a plurality of 'first named elements,

the lip, attaching plate,

leaves together at the middle,

leaves interposed between the face plate and 1 ing said bracket member to one of said first named elements, and retaining means on the other of said elements adapted to be engaged by the ends of said spring. 6. The combination with the end structure railway car and the diaphragm face plate of the vestibule thereof, of a semi-elliptical spring consisting of a plurality of leaves interposed between the face plate and the end of the car, a U-shaped binding mem her having flanges extending around the edges of the leaves of said spring, a bracket member comprising an attaching plate having an angular lip betwcen which lip and plate said spring and binding member are fitted, attaching devices for securing said spring to said bracket member and for se curing said bracket member to one of said and retaining means. on the other of said elements adapted to be engaged by the ends of said spring.

7. The combination with the end structure of a railway car and the diaphragm face plate of the vestibule thereof, ofa semielliptical spring consisting of a plurality'of leaves interposed between the face plate and the end of the car, a binding member to hold said leaves together at the middle, a bracket member comprising an attaching plate having an angular lip between which lip and platev the spring and binding member are fitted, attaching devices which pass through leaves of the spring and binding member and secure the same'to one of said first-named elements, attaching plate havdevices which pass through said plate at points on either side of said lip, and retaining devices on the other of said elements adapted to be engaged by the ends of the spring.

, 8. The combination with the diaphragm face plate of a car vestibule, of asemi-elliptical spring composed of a plurality of leaves, a binding element securing said a bracket consisting of an attaching plate formed with an angular lip which is narrower than the attacl'ling plate, said plate being securedto the diaphragm face plate at opposite sides of said lip and the spring and binding mem-v ber being fitted between the attaching'plate 2. 1

and lip of said bracket, attaching devices passing through said bracket, face binding element and the leaves of'the spring, and retaining devices on the end of the car adapted to be said spring.-

plate,

engaged by the extremities of The combination with the diaphragm :imxe plate of 11 em: vestibule, of a senii-elli iik'zll spring composed oi a plurality of leaves, a binding element securing saie l l i through said bracket, fgice plate, binding element and the leaves of the spring, and retaining devices on the efid efthe car adapted to be engaged by the extremities of said spring comprising each a piate formed with a pair pf flanges spaced apart and a removable bolt against which the extremity of the spring bears.

'VENTON E. SISSONi Witnesses:

L. A. FALKENBERG, F. M. Gremsrm. 

